Undiagnosed health problems remain the greatest challenge facing people at the grassroots level.
This was evident after more than 1,000 residents turned up for a free medical camp in Jomvu, Mombasa, where more than half were diagnosed with diseases they did not know they had.
The camp, organised by the Dawoodi Bohra community in collaboration with the Kenya Red Cross, for the first time involved gynaecologists who examined expectant women, saving poor mothers antenatal clinic costs.
Hamza Shura, the Dawoodi Bohra community outreach coordinator, said many people lose their lives because they discover medical complications too late, after they have passed a curable stage.
“Many people do not go for check-ups because healthcare is too expensive for them. They then depend on faith for healing,” Shura said.
Shura said those found with severe illnesses were referred to Saifee Hospital for extra care, including major surgeries, free of charge courtesy of the Dawoodi Bohra community through the Project Rise initiative.
Project Rise is a global initiative started by His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, the spiritual leader of the global Dawoodi Bohra community, to ensure the community delivers free services where they are needed most.
Shura said more than 50 people were diagnosed with ear infections without realising they had them.
“This means some of them could have gone deaf without realising it,” Shura said.
Doctors from various specialties converged in Jomvu to offer services, including ultrasounds for expectant women and eye care.
“This is the first time we are conducting a camp that includes gynaecologists. We are trying to ensure we provide the best medical services to the people of Jomvu and Mombasa as a whole,” Shura said.
This is the fourth free medical camp conducted at the Coast by the Dawoodi Bohra community this year, following similar exercises in Mariakani, Likoni, and Malindi in Kilifi County.
Shura said after the first three camps, there was an increasing demand for gynaecological services for expectant women, who had complained of being left out.
Jomvu MP Badi Twalib said the spiritual leader of the Dawoodi Bohra community, His Holiness Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin, had been a great blessing to the people of Jomvu.
“Seeing more than 1,000 people turn up for a free medical check-up means there is a great need for health assistance in Jomvu constituency,” he said.
“That is why, as leaders, we have to come together and find ways to help our people. The Bohra community has helped us with this medical camp, but we also need a long-lasting solution to our health problems.”
The MP said under the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF), the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) used to pay Sh9 million for residents’ health cover, but under the Social Health Authority (SHA), they now cover more residents for the same amount.
“Since Health CS Aden Duale and SHA chief executive officer Mercy Mwangangi resolved SHA operational issues, we will be able to insure 1,660 households in Jomvu using that same Sh9 million,” Twalib said.
He said each SHA card would cover the father, mother and children in the family, translating to more than 7,000 people receiving medical services free of charge.
Twalib said leaders must remain innovative rather than relying solely on the government for resources.
“We know the government is full of red tape. Depending solely on government funding to help your people will lead to some dying or suffering unnecessarily before help arrives. We must look for other sources of support, such as the Dawoodi Bohra Community,” he said.
Kenya Red Cross Mombasa chairman Johnson Gachanja said collaboration on health matters was key to national prosperity, noting that health is one of the most critical factors affecting a nation’s economy.
“We are thankful there will be follow-up care for those with chronic illnesses. They will be operated on if necessary, and their progress will be monitored daily,” he said.
More than 40 volunteers from the Kenya Red Cross and the Dawoodi Bohra community participated in the medical camp.
